Shawn Nathan Villanueva was born August 22, 1996 in Orlando, Florida. He showed a love of music from an early age, playing guitar until being introduced to the trumpet at the Osceola County School for the Arts (OCSA). Within his first few years, Shawn began expanding his craft to include other instruments such as: bass, percussion, and piano. Throughout high school he held lead positions in the top ensembles, as well as in several statewide jazz bands.

Outside of school, he performed with the salsa band Seguro Que Sí. In 2013, Seguro Que Sí was hand-selected by President Barack and Michelle Obama to perform for the President’s Inauguration, becoming the first performers of Hispanic/Latino music to do so. In 2014, his jazz ensemble at OCSA went on to become finalists in the prestigious Essentially Ellington Competition, performing for Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center. While there, Shawn was presented an Outstanding Trumpet Soloist award by Wynton Marsalis himself.

In 2014 he graduated from OCSA and began pursuing a bachelor’s of music degree in Jazz Performance at the Florida State University (FSU). While at FSU, he held the lead trumpet position in their top jazz ensemble for three years. While focusing on his school’s ensembles, Shawn was also the lead trumpet for the Tallahassee Symphony Jazz Orchestra from 2015-2018. He also was a Florida Jazz and Blues Festival scholarship recipient in 2017. Throughout his four years at Florida State, he had the opportunity to learn from and perform with/for individuals such as: Jon Faddis, Marcus Roberts, Jason Marsalis, and Wynton Marsalis.

Since he graduated in May 2018, he has been freelancing and teaching throughout the Central Florida area. He performs at all of the major theme parks including Universal Studios, Sea World, and at Magic Kingdom in the Main Street Philharmonic, the flagship ensemble at Walt Disney World. He plans to eventually further his education with the hopes of being able to travel the world and spread joy, peace, and love through his music.